Gnubie Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 I've been thinking about getting one, because I need something that is simple to just drag and drop files onto and is very reliable and won't be scratched or whatever, like CDs. So can anyone tell me the pros and cons of Zip, andalso whether it is easy to setup in linux or not. I have heard something about a click of death, and that doesn't sound too encouraging.... Have they fixed this problem? Also, if Zips aren't that reliable can someone suggest an alternative removable media? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crock Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 I used to work for Iomega, in their tech support branch. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. About the click of death thing, its caused by drive heads becoming misaligned. This can happen if its dropped, or misused. Drives rarely exhibit this, but its not something that is really FIXABLE. Since there are moving parts in there, if you jostle them around, they'll definately break. This was more prominent with the older drives simply because they were built to look rugged. People would toss em around, into their briefcase, and just overall mistreat them. Thats how the clicking drive thing came about. Like I said, its not fixable, but rarely is it a problem. The drives are redesigned with more of a shock-absorbant type of framework, but its still not gonna prevent a clicking drive if its dropped off of your shelf or desk. Just use the drive properly and you won't have any problems. I'll try to get more info on this, as I expect to be reinstated into my prior tech support job with them within the next few days. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me, or ask away! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmpatrick Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 The biggest con is the cost of zip disks compared to the cost of cd-r media. Unless you have a bunch of zip disks already, zip drives don't make a lot of economic sense. Also, nearly every computer has a cdrom, not so for a zip drive. Accordingly, your data is more portable on cd-r. USB zip drives work well in linux but ide zip drives frequently have trouble in linux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Scrimpshire Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 I agree with Pzatch. If you really want one, I have an Iomega Zip250 I'll sell you real cheap. It's just not worth it for me to keep it. Don't worry, it works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 CDs are more for archiving than frequent transferring. Flash memory has no moving parts, and is shock-resistant. Buy a USB thumb drive or a memory card with usb reader. Almost all computers now have USB. Con: it's more expensive per megabyte. Windows 98 needs drivers installed. My laptop doesn't have a floppy, so for me usb is the way to go. It can be *almost* as useful as a CD-writer, only that it is for different situations. You can also buy a usb hard drive, for bigger size but at least you can read and write, not read-only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnubie Posted February 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 Thanks guys. :) Based on what I've heard in this thread I don't think I'll be getting a zip drive. Maybe one of those keydrive thingys instead, although those aren't too cheap either. :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crock Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 Iomega makes those too, and damn reliable too. :D I got to personally test the demos when we first came out with em. They have a 3 year warranty on em, compared with the 1 year warranty on everything else there. Also, if you call tech support to purchase it, they can give you a discount if you ask about it. If ya need anymore info, I'd be glad to help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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